


Fitting In

by areyoukiddingme



Category: Atlantis (UK TV)
Genre: Awkwardness, Bisexual Pythagoras, Corporal Punishment, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, No Smut, Romantic Fluff, soft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-08
Updated: 2014-05-12
Packaged: 2018-01-24 01:04:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1586006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/areyoukiddingme/pseuds/areyoukiddingme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jason isn't the only one appearing in a strange foreign land in an inconvenient place.</p><p>// 2017, updated and reworked, yay!!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Someone stirred in bed, semi-consciously protesting against the light hitting her closed eyelids. As she moved, the bed sheets moved with her and something started to prick her body. When she opened her eyes, she found that she wasn’t in her own room any more. And there were three strange men staring down at her.

Pythagoras looked at the young woman who had been sleeping in his bed. They'd only recently returned from one of their 'adventures' when they had found her. It had already been discussed what they should do about her, and Pythagoras had argued against chucking her out. From appearances alone, she didn't seem to be the kind of person who would steal their house and slit their throats when they returned.

"Who are you?" She asked quickly, jumping out of the bed.

"We were just about to ask you the same question." The man on the left said.

He had dark, tightly curled hair and earthy clothing. He should have looked imposing, but there was a kindness about him that made her certain that he wasn't going to hurt her.

"What are you doing here, girl?" The one in the middle squinted at her. He was quite a stocky man whose weather-beaten face probably made him look far older than it was.

"Show some respect, Hercules. How would you like it if I called you ‘boy’ on our first encounter?" The man on the right finally spoke, chastising the portly man.

She took a liking almost immediately to this guy. He was tall and lean with a mop of blonde hair and he obviously had a sense of humour. He seemed the least imposing out of all of them.

"I- I don't know why I'm here." She confessed as they stared at her expectantly.

"Well, you're definitely not from Atlantis." The man in the middle commented.

"Atlantis? You mean the lost city?" She asked, remembering the story of Atlantis that she’d heard as a child.

"Are you from where I'm from?" The man on the left asked excitedly. He looked foreign to her.

"You know, phones, televisions, cars?" He asked eagerly, seeing that she didn't quite understand him.

"Yeah."

"She's from my time.” The man turned to his friends in explanation. “She's found a way to get into Atlantis without having to drown first."

She watched this whole thing unfold, her mind a cacophony of thoughts, and yet she still felt a thousand miles behind everyone else.

"So you're from a different time. I was wondering how you got pictures into your clothes." The thin one spoke, staring at her chest for much too long for her to feel comfortable.

"Pythagoras, don’t be awkward.” The one claiming to be from ‘her world’ hinted and Pythagoras drew back quickly.

"Pythagoras? As in, triangle guy?" She asked, the name ringing a bell from tortuous maths lessons.

“How do you know I’m working on triangles?”

"I'm Hercules by the way." The stocky man interjected.

"Hercules...?" She asked, casting her mind back to the Disney film.

"I know he's not quite what you expect.” He said, extending his hand. She shook it cautiously. “I'm Jason."

They stood awkwardly for a while, thinking about what could be done.

"You’re staying with us then." Jason made a hasty decision, looking to the two other men.

"I couldn’t." She responded quickly.

Jason saw a lot of Pythagoras in her. Always uneasy, always not wanting to impose. That over-the-top kindness that just defined him as a person, and there seemed to be someone else with that skill.

"It's no problem." Hercules spoke firmly. He was obviously the leader of the household, so she didn't question his judgement.

"I'll get you a bed." He said decisively.

"Pythagoras, you can get her clothes. I think she'd look a bit conspicuous in that." Jason joked, gesturing towards her modern apparel.

They made a few more decisions, and then one by one left her in the house, all alone and completely to her own devices in a strange and foreign land. She had to marvel at them. They trusted her enough on their first encounter to leave her alone in their own house. These were good men, good enough that they believed in the good of other people, no matter how many times they might be proven wrong.

While they were gone, she explored their small house. Only a few rooms with a bed set up in each, a central room with a wooden table and mis-matched chairs clustered around it. The windows were just carved out from the walls themselves with no glass, suggesting the nice weather that they must be accustomed to, and when she looked out from them she saw an unfamiliar street scene. People in brightly coloured clothes, women in loose dresses down to their ankles and a surprising amount of leather considering the heat of the place.

Exactly as they left, the three men came back one by one with the items that they had been charged with getting. They set up the new bed and she tried on the clothes that Pythagoras had picked out for her. Standing in one of their rooms, she poked her head out and gestured for Jason to come inside. He saw her clutching the dress to her body; it fit well, but it just kept slipping from her frame and when he looked closer he noticed that she hadn’t done it up.

"Sorry, I don't have a clue how this works. And I didn't want the others thinking that I'm stupid." She apologized.

"They wouldn't think that." He said genuinely, clasping her dress together.

"There you go. You look lovely.” He smiled at me. “Pythagoras chose a good colour for you."

As she emerged, Pythagoras couldn’t help but notice how attractive she looked, especially now as she was wearing something that he was more accustomed to. Jason emerged behind her and he felt a twinge of jealousy; he knew that Jason already had Ariadne but he also knew that he didn't really have a chance with her against Jason. Or even Hercules for that matter, but he might as well try. He'd never had a girlfriend before.

"What do you think?" She asked Hercules and Pythagoras.

"You look lovely." Pythagoras babbled. "Very nice. Pretty. Yes."

Hercules gave his friend a glare.

"You look beautiful." Hercules said, still staring at Pythagoras who was now blushing slightly.

As the day wore on they told tales of their adventures together. Hercules told her the story of how he single-handedly took down the Minotaur when he thought Jason and Pythagoras weren't listening.

"Hey, we all defeated it!" Jason called from inside another room. Hercules looked sheepishly up at her to see if she was mad, but she just laughed.

"Really? All of you?" She asked sceptically, looking directly at Pythagoras as he walked into the room.

"I was the best fighter of them all." Pythagoras said, miming an over-the-top battle with the Minotaur.

"Yeah, if by fighting you mean hiding." Hercules laughed. Pythagoras stopped the mime and tried to look hurt.

"I'm sure you did brilliantly," she reassured Pythagoras. "I wouldn't have gone near the creature."

Pythagoras smiled gratefully at her. He knew that he wasn't Jason-brave. But he wasn't bad for someone who studied triangles all day.

They also told the story of when they travelled to the underworld and how their lives rested in Pythagoras' shoulders. Even though they all chipped in to the story, she seemed to hang on to Pythagoras' words most avidly. While annoying Hercules, it moved Jason slightly. He could see a spark with these two as she hung onto his every word while he was animatedly telling the story.

It grew dark outside and Eris was sent off to bed with fanciful tales in her head.

"...And I must show you our temples." Pythagoras told her while they were walking to her door.

"You must." She repeated, smiling at him.

"Well, good night... I never asked your name." Pythagoras realised suddenly.

"Eris." She informed him. His mouth quirked upwards.

"Good night Eris." He said, emphasizing her name. It sounded nice on his tongue.

"Good night Pythagoras." She said, going to her bed.

* * *

Eris got up fairly early to find Hercules gone and only Jason and Pythagoras left eating breakfast.

"Where's Hercules?" She asked, not sitting down until one of them invited her onto a chair.

"Probably collapsed in a bin somewhere." Jason said disapprovingly. She had a look of shock on her face, before Pythagoras expanded from where Jason left off.

"Hercules is quite a heavy drinker." He explained.

"Ah." Eris said, still not fully understanding.

After breakfast, she went off to get changed while Jason and Pythagoras cleared up. She insisted that she could help, but Jason had sent her away. He needed to talk with Pythagoras.

"I think that you should take Eris out today." Jason told him.

"Why?" Pythagoras asked, a bit embarrassed.

"Because I thought that you two..." He trailed off seeing that Pythagoras wasn't warming to the conversation. "It's just you were talking about showing her the sights yesterday and I think that you're the best person to do that. Hercules is still drunk somewhere and I'm busy…"

Eris came up behind them, clearing her throat and they both immediately looked guilty despite having done nothing wrong.

"What's going on?" She asked suspiciously.

"Nothing." Jason answered quickly. "I was just leaving. You don’t mind if I leave you with Pythagoras, do you?"

"Of course not." She answered.

"What do you say to me showing you around today?" Pythagoras asked her as Jason packed his stuff, nodding at the two of them before leaving them alone.

"I’d like that."

They spent the day exploring Atlantis, her new home and his home, seen through new eyes. He showed her the vast market that stretched in all directions as far as you could see and she marvelled at the bright colours, new smells and unfamiliar trinkets. He also showed her many of the temples where she stood in awe at the architecture and mosaics that surrounded her. It was difficult to remind her modern brain that they didn’t have cranes in this world, every statue was carved meticulously by hand and it gave her a whole new appreciation of this world that she had been thrown into.

He even showed her how to pray, standing next to her in front of a large marble statue of a perfect woman.

“Aphrodite.” He murmured. “The goddess of love and beauty.”

Eris looked to him, wide-eyed, a small smile playing on her lips. He kept his eyes fixed on the statue, awkwardly shifting his hands behind his back.

“You lift your hands to the sky, like this.” He demonstrated, raising his arms and she copied him. “And you ask the gods for what you want.”

They both stood, arms raised in silent prayer. Pythagoras glanced over at Eris who was still perfectly silent with her eyes closed. He loved the way that she gave complete respect to their religions, even though she didn't even know about them before today, and he also loved her complete and utter fascination with everything. To him it was ordinary life, but to her it was new and extraordinary. She actually helped him to see the wonder of the mosaics that he'd never really appreciated before and how full of life Atlantis is.

But there were also constant reminders that she wasn’t from this world and she was out of her depth. As he watched her pray, he read ‘I want to go home’ on her lips. His chest clenched and his heart bled for her.

Pythagoras tugged on her shoulder and she jerked out of her reverie. He picked out some of the seeds that they bought in the market, and allowed her to place them in the dish before the marble goddess. They stood before her for a few moments more before heading back out, through the bustling market.

It was almost dusk by the time they were heading back. Halfway there, they decided to sit and watch the sun set. They both leaned their hands down simultaneously but when their hands collided they both jerked them back. When they finally settled their hands, Eris moved hers over to his and brushed his fingertips lightly before settling on his knuckles. He glanced down, then back up at her but she was watching the sunset. With the light highlighting her he couldn't help but compare her to the goddess they’d seen in the temple. Reincarnated into his bed while he was away and sent to test his will. It was only when she glanced at him he realised that he'd been staring and quickly looked away.

They waited until the sun couldn't be seen any more, and then moved on. Pythagoras went to buy some necessities before they went home, and Eris wandered around as all of the stalls started to pack away. But when she turned back she couldn't see Pythagoras any more. Was it a right or a left that she took? She couldn't remember and now that all of the stalls were gone she didn't recognise anything. A vast maze with no people in sight. Fortunately, as she turned a corner she saw a person.

But, unfortunately, that person was a guard.

And she was out past curfew.


	2. Chapter 2

Pythagoras panicked when he saw that Eris wasn't behind him anymore. He ran through the market, aware that curfew was almost upon them. Eventually he rounded a corner to find her being handled roughly by a guard. Oh no. That means curfew is over.

"Hey!" Pythagoras shouted, out of breath from trying to find her. "What do you think you're doing?"

"This girl was found out past curfew." The guard grinned evilly. "And do you know what we do to women who break curfew?"

"Please, this girl is unaware of our ways and customs. Could you let her off just this once?"

"We flog them." The guard continued as if Pythagoras had said nothing.

A look of fear passed Eris’ eyes as the guard's grip on her arm tightened.

"Ok, then I take full responsibility for her. Punish me the way you would punish her." Pythagoras begged.

Eris could see his bravery in action now. And now she wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he did kill the Minotaur.

"Please stop Pythagoras. I couldn't bear to see you hurt." She said, trying to sound brave but her voice wavered. Seeing that the guard was stubborn and only wanted to see people hurt, Pythagoras tried another approach.

"Name your price." He said firmly. "I will pay it if you free her."

After some consideration the guard answered him.

"Two hundred."

"Done. Come on Eris, we need-" Pythagoras tried to pull her away but the guard kept his grip on her arm.

"But the girl stays with me." He said, still grinning. "We need to make sure that you pay."

Pythagoras dithered for a moment before stepping forward, holding her hand gently.

"I will be back as soon as possible." He reassured her before setting off to get the ransom money.

Meanwhile, Eris was shoved into a cell, waiting to be rescued. But as the hours wore on she couldn't help but feel that she'd been rejected. Pythagoras couldn't pay it. Why would he pay it for someone he'd just met? She attempted to get some sleep under the dull moonlight that was seeping in between the bars of her cell.

* * *

Pythagoras sprinted home, grabbed the money then set back off again leaving a very confused Jason and Hercules wondering what he was doing out so late after curfew. But as Pythagoras went to pay the guard, he was told to leave.

"But you said you'd let her free!" Pythagoras struggled.

"Come back in the morning."

"But why? You're here right now and I don't-"

"Leave now. Before I charge you for breaking curfew too."

Pythagoras almost had a fit before turning on his heel and leaving. He couldn't risk everything by getting arrested too. He reluctantly went back home and explained everything to a worried Jason and Hercules.

"...And now they won't let her go." He finished, pacing.

"You've landed yourself in deep water there." Hercules commented.

"I know. She did nothing wrong. She never does anything wrong. And now she's all alone in a cell waiting for me to come back, but I can't." He said, still pacing.

"They took her to the east cells, did you say?" Jason asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah."

"Aren't they the ones with the windows?" Jason asked. A light lit on Pythagoras' face.

"Of course!" He said, almost running out before Jason grabbed his collar.

"Woah, Woah, you can't risk getting caught. This guard sounds tricky. You'll need some help." He said, nodding towards Hercules.

"Yes, we'll help as best we can." Hercules confirmed.

Pythagoras looked gratefully at them.

"Thanks you guys."

* * *

They travelled quickly, making sure that they couldn't be seen and arrived at the cells in good time. Pythagoras had the job of finding her cell while the other two stood guard. He looked in every cell before finding a small woman huddled under bed sheets with the moon reflecting off of her hair. This had to be her.

"Eris?" He whispered.

She stirred immediately, informing Pythagoras that she hadn't been sleeping at all.

“Eris." he whispered again and she finally looked towards the window.

"Pythagoras?" She asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"They won't let you out until tomorrow. I'm so sorry, I tried but-"

"It's ok, you're here now." He heard a smile in her voice.

She walked towards the window and before long a slender hand crept in through the bars. Pythagoras took it hesitantly and she squeezed it. They spent a couple of minutes in companionable silence before she spoke up.

"Pythagoras? It's awfully dark in here." She commented timidly, but all Pythagoras heard was 'I'm scared'.

"Don't worry; I'll get you out of here. Whether I have to break you out or not." He said determinedly.

They spent the rest of the evening together, their hands intertwined, until the first signs of dawn started to show.

"You should go before you're seen."

Pythagoras left reluctantly, but knew that it was almost time to free her. He signalled to Hercules and Jason and they went back home to wait for the morning bells to chime.

* * *

A couple of hours after Pythagoras had left a guard came into Eris’ cell a dragged her out. She was elated, until they turned away from the entrance and started to walk deeper into the cells. They came to a small room with two shackles hanging from the ceiling and very grim-looking objects arranged on one wall.

"I'm very sorry, but your friend didn't turn up." The guard said, with no sound of apology in his voice. "So I'm afraid you have to take the full punishment. Five lashes for breaking curfew."

He secured her wrists into the shackles and she didn't fight back. Pythagoras hadn't come for her. She had no hope any more.

* * *

Pythagoras, Hercules and Jason all left as soon as the morning bells chimed. They were only a few minutes late when they arrived at the cells, but the guard wouldn't let them in.

"What's happening to her?" Pythagoras asked, straining to get past the guard.

"She is being flogged." He said automatically. He was obviously young and didn't really know what was going on. But he knew who they were talking about.

"But we agreed! We agreed she would be set free!" Pythagoras shouted, unable to contain his anger.

The three men were able to overpower the guard after trying to just talk their way into the cells. They ran through, checking every door until they came across one at the very end. Even from a distance, Pythagoras could see Eris shackled from the ceiling, her arms stretched where a normal person's arms would have coped just fine. Her lack of resistance showed how she'd given up. Pythagoras arrived just in time to see Eris’ beautiful dress that he had picked out ripped apart at the back in order for the lashes to be even more painful. Pythagoras ran forward but was stopped by two guards at the door. He watched in vain as the guard lifted his whip in order to deliver the blow.

"Eris!" Pythagoras shouted and she turned to see him just as the first lash went into her.

She turned back quickly so he couldn't see the pain on her face. He watched in horror as an angry red slash appeared on her back. He struggled for all he was worth, but gave up eventually and averted his eyes. Jason put his arm around his friend for support and didn't watch either. By the third whip Eris was visibly trembling but had still not let a single tear drop. Hercules was impressed. He'd had his fair share of lashings and it was hard to keep it in sometimes.

By the fifth she was very weak and once they released her from her shackles she collapsed on the floor. The guards finally let Pythagoras, Hercules and Jason forward and Jason quickly took off his top and put it under her as he picked her up to stem the bleeding. They walked all the way home unspeaking, with Pythagoras trotting beside Jason feeling very useless. He knew that Jason was stronger, but he still wanted to help. When they arrived home Jason rested Eris on her bed on her front and they all stepped back.

"Someone should dress her wounds." Jason commented.

"I'm busy." Hercules said quickly, not even bothering to come up with an excuse, and left the room.

"Good luck Pythagoras." Jason patted him on the shoulder. "I'll leave you two alone."

Pythagoras got everything that he wanted and set about making her wounds clean.

"Oh Eris, what did you get yourself into?" He asked quietly, silent tears dripping down his face as he dabbed at the fresh cuts.

Pythagoras spent the rest of the day by her bedside, barely eating anything, just waiting for her to wake up. Night started to draw in and Pythagoras cried fresh tears, anxious that she would never wake up. But then he felt a soft hand on his face.

"Shhhh Pythagoras." She whispered, rubbing away his tears.

"I can't bear to see you hurt." She said before drifting away again. After that, Pythagoras stayed beside her and she was up in a matter of days. Her quick recovery proved to be useful when the foursome received a letter. Hercules read it first, and with trembling hands he passed it over to Jason.

"Ok. And you're sure this is her writing?" Jason asked Hercules.

Hercules nodded, certain of the fact.

"What's going on?" Eris asked quietly.

"I do believe...." Pythagoras started, grabbing the letter from Jason. "...That Medusa has contacted us."

Eris gasped, having heard the story of the two doomed lovers on the first night she came.

"Tomorrow. That's when we should set off." Hercules commented. "Herein is a long way away and we don't want her to move on before we get there."

"I agree. Will you be- I mean, are you able to travel Eris?" Jason asked, his voice full of concern.

She nodded determinedly.

"Are you sure?" Pythagoras asked, uneasy.

"Yes." She said, trying to convince them all. There was a moment of hesitation before anyone said anything.

"...Okay, but if anything bad happens then I'm taking you straight back." Pythagoras affirmed.

The next day shone bright and clear and all four of them set off to find Medusa. Eris still seemed to be struggling, but she just grinned and bore it. They made a couple of stops along the way, and just before they rested for the night Pythagoras insisted that he carry Eris.

"No, really, I'm fine... Okay!" She gasped as he picked her up.

She clung to his neck, afraid that he was going to drop her because of how heavy she was but he turned out to be stronger than she initially thought. They talked for some of the way and at one point she drifted off in his arms, still delicate from the lack of blood. He stared down at her peaceful form, her arms still around his neck and he could not have felt more at peace than at that moment.

They arrived at their base camp and luckily Eris woke up in time to join the merriment after they had set all of their equipment up. Hercules started off closed in his own thoughts, but after a bit of alcohol he loosened up. Eris also had a tad to drink along with Pythagoras and because neither were experienced drinkers and began to feel its effects almost immediately. They began to get very rowdy and Jason sent them both to bed with a giggle.

They set off towards their tents but at the spilt-off point they both stopped. Pythagoras pulled her hand into his. There were no words exchanged but as Eris looked into his eyes she could feel something. She wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or not, but she had a sudden surge of courage. She gripped Pythagoras' shirt and pulled him down to kiss her. Their lips connected for a brief moment before Eris realised what she'd done, and with the courage suddenly gone she recoiled. But Pythagoras pulled her back in, his tongue begging for entry and Eris allowed it.

The kiss didn't last long, but they emerged from it breathing heavily.

"You don't know how long it's been since I've done that." Pythagoras said almost desperately.

"I think I have an idea." Eris grinned. She leaned in and kissed him again before reluctantly leaving to go to her tent.

* * *

 Two hours later, with the wind buffeting and howling at the tent, Eris still couldn't sleep. Would Pythagoras mind if I disturb him?

She exited her tent quickly having made her decision, but promptly ran into something that almost gave her a heart attack. She felt familiar arms snake around her body and a whisper tickled her ear.

“Hi.”

"Couldn't sleep. What's your excuse?" Eris grinned in the darkness.

"Wanted to see you." He said, to which she replied with a gentle kiss.

It became increasingly more passionate than before now no-one was watching. Pythagoras pulled Eris into his tent and they lay, undisturbed, a tangle of limbs and skin-on-skin.

The next morning, Eris had hoped to get up early but that seemed impossible as she felt hung-over from last night. She tried to get up without waking Pythagoras but failed miserably as he stirred and wrapped his arms around her tighter.

"Morning." He breathed.

"Morning. I didn't want to wake you." She turned back to look at him. He kissed her lightly and she blushed, now that all of the alcohol had gone from her body and it was light outside she didn't feel so confident.

"I should get up. We don't want Jason and Hercules getting suspicious." She said, getting fully clothed then leaving the tent.

To her dismay, Jason and Hercules were already up when she exited the tent, wearing her clothes from the night before and her hair mussed up.

"Don't say a word." She hissed at them before heading back to her own tent.

A couple of minutes after she'd gone, Pythagoras emerged from his tent, fresh clothes on but his hair was more messed up than usual, if that were possible. He perched himself in between Hercules and Jason and happily sat there before realizing that they were both staring at him.

"What?" He asked in confusion.

They both exchanged a knowing glance before looking back at Pythagoras.

"Shut up you two." He rolled his eyes, pushing them each in turn.

They merely smirked.


End file.
